Webcast: Jodi McKay MP

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdWpKgFsnQw[/embed]E&OE TRANSCRIPTWEBCAST INTERVIEWJODI McKAY MPLEADER OF THE NSW OPPOSITION4 MAY 2020Topics: Coronavirus JM:       So hello Kevin! And thank you for joining me from Queensland. KR:      Good to be with you Jodie, and big time for the nation, big time for NSW, big time for Sydney. JM:       It is, it’s such a difficult time, a challenging time for so many people, but I thought I’d just catch up to see how you were managing in this pandemic and what you and your family are up to and how you’re going. KR:      Well thanks for asking. I came back from the States about six weeks ago. Since leaving office, I’ve been running an American think-tank in New York, so, but after we got all our staff back home and working online and off the subway, Therese my wife said ‘get yourself back here’ and so I did. And so I’m back in Queensland. And so we’ve been together, I spent a few weeks in self-imposed self-isolation. This was before the Australian regulations came in. And then we’ve been together I suppose for the last month or so. I’m so glad my self-imposed isolation is over because now I’m eating reasonable food, because I can’t cook for nuts. JM:       Well that’s something you and I share, I think, that I can’t cook either. I can’t look at a recipe and translate into anything that is worth eating so… KR:      You and I have spent too long in politics and journalism. Therese is a well -rounded human being, she can actually do this stuff. I look at it and just look helpless and walk away. JM:       [Laughs]. Well I’m glad you’re eating properly now. So the other question I wanted to ask you, so you did a remarkable job during the GFC in ensuring that we didn’t go into a recession, what do you think the NSW government should be doing now, so we’ve obviously got, you know, real challenges ahead of us, we’ve got tens of thousands people who’ve lost a job, forecasts of unemployment above 10%, what would you be doing right now to pull us out of this? KR:      I think there are two sets of measures, one is get the NSW government to be very plain with the Morrison’s government, not to use this crisis as an opportunity to water down the country’s industrial relations laws. That’s one thing which is really important. You can’t, as it were, kick people when they’re down. You can’t water down their basic protections in a workplace. So that’s one thing they can do with their liberal colleagues in Canberra. The second of a more positive nature, however, is to invest in new infrastructure. Small scale local infrastructure, as well as medium scale and large scale infrastructure, to create a pipeline of projects over time, because the after wash of this crisis, a bit like the last one, will bleed out into, not just the rest of this year, but into 2021 and possibly beyond. And my experience last time round is that we needed a rolling set of measures, quarter by quarter, year by year, in order to plug the gap left by a private sector left in tatters by the crisis itself. And I think that logic applies here as well Jodie. JM:       ‘Cause obviously there are some significant decisions that need to be made here in NSW, and we’ve been pushing for kind of smaller projects, but one of the other issues I’ve been exploring is the education sector. So, at the moment we know that that sector in New South Wales is worth about $14B and we’re seeing no support for our international students. Now you’re a regular on the global stage, obviously our reputation could be significantly impacted by this, when […] that during the good times we want their money, but during the bad times we’re just not there for them. And I’m finding it increasingly frustrating for the NSW […] for not realising the value of this sector and the work that needs to be done. KR:      Well Jodie I’m glad you’ve taken a lead on this, because nationally it’s fallen through the cracks, and I think that’s not to Australia’s national interest and certainly not to the overall interest of NSW. You see, we all know the numbers about the relative significance of the international education sector, at a secondary level and at a tertiary level, for every state economy in the country. And Sydney, frankly, is huge, as far as international students is concerned. So, what I’ve said in social media over the last month as Morrison has put out one set of measures after another, is the parents of the world have entrusted tens of thousands of kids to come to Australia to study. Now, their worlds have been turned upside down and their countries of origin, and so the idea that they’re therefore able to just be supported by the families from whom they’ve come, doesn’t necessarily hold. Therefore, it’s critical that governments and the community put out a helping hand to these young kids to support them on the way through. Not only is it the right thing to do, not only is it the Australian thing to do, not only is it about fairness and solidarity, it’s also in our overwhelming self-interest to do this, because the world has a long memory about those countries which looked after young people in this crisis as opposed to those who said [nup noise], you’re not one of us, we don’t care. So, I think it’s critical that governments, federal and state, and the community at large, partner in providing pastoral and practical support for literally hundreds of thousands of young kids who’ve been marooned in our country. JM:       The other issue that you and I share in common is, apart from the fact that we can’t cook, our connection with the Chinese-Australian community, because I have one of the largest Chinese-Australian constituencies in my electorate, and, you know, I’m always there supporting the Chinese-Australian community as well as all our multicultural communities. But we have, Kevin, seen a heightened level of racism in this country, and I despair that this has happened. What’s your take on that? KR:      Well let me answer in English and Chinese. Is that okay? JM:       Yeah, of course. KR:      A few words in English and a few words in Chinese. I’m deeply concerned about the early manifestations of racism, both in our country and abroad. In fact, I wrote a piece I think on this in late February reflecting upon on an incident I saw in the streets of New York, of some old white guy barrelling into a Chinese guy for no reason. Just an [ah] his race, over what was then the unfolding coronavirus crisis. [KR speaking Mandarin] JM:       Would you also answer this in Mandarin and English as well, what leadership is required from government on this? I mean, I’ve been saying to our Chinese Australian community, you actually need to report these incidents, because I know many are happening and people aren’t reporting them. But there’s gotta be leadership. What sort of federal leadership is missing, and state leadership is missing here? Because our Chinese-Australian community had such admiration for you, and still do, what is the type of leadership that needs to be brought to bear on, in this sort of environment? KR:      Well you’re right Jodie, leadership’s really important because those of us who are not of Chinese extraction, like me, like you, we’ve got a particular responsibility to look after all Australians, wherever they have come from. And right now there’s this huge focus on Chinese-Australians and regrettably, Asian-Australians as well more generally, on the part of pig-ignorant people who think that somehow the Australian-Chinese community is somehow, or the Asian-Australian community is somehow responsible for this particular virus. That is just palpable nonsense. The origin of the virus as we know is the subject of separate scientific deliberation given its geographical origins in Wuhan in China. But to therefore blame anyone in the Australian-Chinese community is a bit like blaming you and I for events in the Republic of Ireland, you know, go figure. So, what we as political leaders, that is the Prime Minister and the Premier, say every day about this, matters. You see, because, you know, all of our democracy is functioned on the basis of what our laws are, that frankly in addition to that, what our political culture tolerates in and around the law. And those goalposts are set by our political leaders, and so, therefore, you cannot have, to use an Australian expression, a bit of a nod and a wink, a bit of a nudge and a wink that racism is somehow acceptable because unless our political leaders are saying zero tolerance, guess what? Others in the community take that as an amber light or a green light to have a go. [KR speaking Mandarin] JM:       And Kevin can I also ask, you know, this is going to go on my WeChat, can I also ask if there’s a message of support, a message that you would like to deliver to our Chinese Australian community as well? They’ve such great admiration, I know they would very much appreciate a message directly to them from you. KR:      Well thank you Jodi. And I think it’s really important we band together as an Australian family at times like this, because the challenge, both public health and the economy, is racially blind. It affects everybody, it affects human beings, it affects all of us, all our families, all our communities, and therefore the entire Australian family. [KR speaking Mandarin] JM:       Thank you, she-she, thank you. Now two questions I haven’t given you any warning on this and I probably should’ve … KR:      I’ve been in politics a while, I’m used to questions without notice. JM:       [Laughs]. I’m glad you’ve had plenty of practice. Well, okay, so two things that you’re enjoying about isolation. So two things for me, I’ve actually taken up my cross stitch again, and I’m restoring furniture, which I haven’t done in a long time. So what are two things, even one thing, that you’ve taken up in isolation that you’re now enjoying again? KR:      That’s great, I’ve enjoyed giving Therese strategic guidance in the kitchen … JM:       [Laughs]. KR:      Which is, she’s bought this thing called a Thermomix, you ever heard of these things? JM:       Yes, I have heard of one of those! I haven’t used it of course, but I have heard of it. KR:      Yeah, it’s kind of this thing which does everything for your kitchen, and it kinda looks to me like a mini nuclear reactor, it’s sort of massive. Anyway, whatever she puts in there comes out beautifully. So, last night, she made her own pasta, and something allied to the Thermomix, she made homemade ice cream. And so what have I enjoyed most, myself, is providing her with that level of strategic guidance and encouragement, and consuming the product afterwards. JM:       [Laughs]. Okay so, the next question follows well from that. So the next question is, what do you really want to do when you get out of isolation? So for me, I want to go out and I want to eat scrambled eggs with mushrooms on the side in my favourite restaurant, because I can’t cook and I don’t have a Therese, so what do you want to do, and I don’t have a Thermomix [laughs], so what do you want to do first when you get out of isolation? What are you missing? KR:      Well how ‘bout this. When I get out, and we all get out, I get down to Sydney, and let's find a really nice café, and have one of those special breakfasts that you’ve just mentioned. And for me, it’ll be basically smashed avo on toast, and given the time of day, you know, probably a very, very special flat white. No alcohol. JM:       Yeah, no alcohol. I don’t like alcohol for breakfast either, so another thing you and I have in common. KR:      I have an 11am rule. JM:       [Laughs]. I hear that people are actually doing more drinking in isolation, I won’t ask you that don’t worry. KR:      Given the state of our fridge, that’s possible. But I [don’t] wish to confirm publicly. JM:       [Laughs]. So Kevin, can I say that you are up to that, I am, I will accept that, I would love to host you at a café, you have smashed avo and I have scrambled eggs. KR:      Sounds good. Are we going to do that in Strathfield? JM:       I would love to do that in Strathfield! We can go back to Burwood as well. KR:      We can go to Burwood, Strathfield, wherever you like down there in the People’s Republic of Sydney. JM:       Now we are just going to take a selfie, so Rowland’s here, he’s going to take not so much a selfie but a photo of us so … KR:      Okay. I will just keep looking. JM:       Okay, now, so that’s a date, we will catch up, and can I say thank you so much for catching up with me, I always, you and I have known each other for a long time, and such, such genuine admiration for you, so stay safe up there in Queensland, and I look forward to catching up with you soon. KR:      Thanks Jodie, and happy to do this with you. Yeah, we have known each other for a long time, 13 years I think since you ran in Newcastle … JM:       That’s right. KR:      You and I haven’t changed a bit in those 13 years, not one bit. And I look forward to seeing you in Sydney, but also two serious points. Thanks for sticking up for international students, really important, and thanks for sticking up for the Chinese community. At this fairly charged time in our national life. Well done. JM:       Thank you, Kevin, and always. Alright, look forward to catching up soon. Stay safe.